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The new(ish) app Sarahah has been making waves in the world of apps recently, partly due to a new feature on Snapchat which allows you to link the two apps together, and partly due to the abuse some users of the app are reportedly receiving.

The app allows users to send one another messages completely anonymously, with no way of knowing who sent the message or replying to it.

We say new(ish) because the app has been very popular in the Middle East and North Africa since its launch in February, but has recently seen a surge of users from Europe and America.

In fact, at the time of writing Sarahah is the most popular free app on the iPhone app store.

It’s being downloaded more than WhatsApp and Instagram (Picture: App Store)

Sarahah means ‘honesty’ or ‘frankness’ in Arabic, and Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, the Saudi programmer who created it, reportedly intended it to be used by businesses to get candid feedback on their services or friends sending notes and confessions to each other.

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Of course, the anonymous nature of the app has inevitably led to people sending abusive messages and bullying people on the platform.

While people being cruel to each other online is nothing new, the anonymous nature of the insults some users claim to have received makes it a bit more sinister.

Sarahah means ‘honesty’ or ‘frankness’ in Arabic (Picture: Sarahah)

One reviewer called the app a ‘breeding ground for hate’, adding: ‘My son signed up for an account and within 24 hours someone posted a horrible racist comment on his page including saying that he should be lynched.’

Apps that allow anonymous posts have been corrupted by mean-spirited users before.

In September 2011 Post Secret, launched an app that, like the blog, would allow users to anonymously confess their secrets in the digital realm.

Unfortunately some users started posting abusive messages, threats, and even pornography to the app. Within three months, after the creators had been contacted by Apple and the FBI, the app was shut down.

Remember, if you are receiving abusive messages on the app, you can easily delete it and find another way to communicate with your friends.